Taking the Score by Kate Meader

For anyone who hasn’t read Kate Meader before, I’m going to give you a brief introduction to her writing. I don’t normally provide excerpts here at Beverages and Books, but the folks over at Tasty Tours graciously provided one for me to use. I think Meader is an author who can speak for herself in this way – if you’re intrigued by the excerpt, then this should be a one-click buy for you for sure.

But before I get to that, premise first. Emma is Brody’s assistant. She intrigues him to no end, but he knows she’s off limits. When circumstances lead him to discover some secrets about her, he steps in to the be knight in shining armor and they find their happily ever after in each other. Along the way there’s banter, hot sex in adventurous positions, emotional vulnerability, and more with a nerd boy hero and a strong sassy heroine.

A growl erupted from his throat, an unabashed display of possessiveness that even he found to be clichéd. But it drew the perfect reaction. Her teeth snagged on the pillow of her lower lip and emerged moist. Her nipples budded against the thin fabric of his tee.

Ms. Strickland likes it when you growl.

He closed the gap between them, gratified when she stepped back against the counter.

“Admit you’re jealous, Emma.”

“Never,” she said defiantly.

“Just your nipples then. They’re pouting.” He inclined his head. “And these earlobes have a greenish tinge to them.” He brushed his lips across the delicate shell of her ear. “And this spot where your neck meets your shoulder”—he inhaled her scent and placed the lightest kiss at that sensitive patch of skin—“the most jealous of all. And you in that tee is not helpin’ anyone, baby.”

“Are you telling me your engine gets all revved up when you see an old tee?” Fake bravado trilled through her voice. She pulled at the hem of the shirt. It fell to midthigh, but her drawing attention to it stirred his blood into a cauldron of need.

“When I see you in it. Because now it’s going to smell of you.” Reaching behind her, he bunched the material so it shaped to her perky breasts. “I know it brushed your skin, rubbed your nipples, that you were wearing it when I fucked you to paradise on my bedroom floor. Maybe you hitched it up to your hips while you thought about me and stroked yourself last night.”

He gave her a moment to pull out of his grasp, and when she didn’t, he hiked the tee higher, up past her ass. A wisp of lace crashed into his vision field as she parted her legs on a moan.

“You have other clothes. Ones I bought you. You don’t have to wear this, so why are you tormenting me?”

Her breathing came in short tugs, her breasts straining against the fabric he held taut against her body. Every part of him howled to be completed by her surrender. He could dip his head and suck her stiff nipple, but she had to ask for it. Beg for it. Last time, he took.

“Why are you wearing it?” he repeated.

“Be-because it’s soft.”

“And?”

“Comfortable.”

Not satisfied with that answer, he nudged his knee between her legs. Her lips parted to reveal all that wet, succulent pink, mimicking the pliant heat he longed to plant his cock into over and over. “And?”

“It smells of you.” In a surprise move, she put him on the back foot by leaning in and inhaling from his neck. “But it’s a ghost of your scent and can’t possibly compete with the real thing. God, you smell so good. It was the first thing I noticed about you when I interviewed. You shook my hand and I walked out of there on a contact high. No one should smell that good or look that hot. And in glasses, too, you fucking dick.”

I loved the interactions between these two. I loved the moments of vulnerability as they learned to trust. You get inner monologues of both of them, so it was great to know what they’re thinking. Also, when some secrets come to light, I appreciated that they chose to trust each other to hear the full story before jumping to conclusions. I appreciate that in my romances – less drama, more adulting.

EnjoyTaking the Score with a good red wine and if this is your first introduction to Meader’s writing, I’d recommend grabbing the back catalog.